New Report Says Climate Change Will Hurt SW

Fire, water and heat stress, oh my

That’s the word from the US Global Change Research Program,
which just released its third overview of climate change impacts and
projections across the nation.

Broken down into regions, the National Climate Assessment offers
some key messages for the Southwest, which includes 56 million people in Arizona,
California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico:

Snowpack and streamflow amounts are projected to decline.
This will affect cities, farms and ecosystems.

Irrigation-dependent farms are vulnerable to declining
surface water supplies and crops are vulnerable to extremes of moisture, cold
and heat. The report’s authors note that as temperatures and competition for
water increase—and crop yields decrease—rural communities will lose jobs.

Thanks to warmer temperatures, drought and insect
outbreaks, the region is already experiencing more wildfires. Between 1970 and
2003, the burn area of the West’s mid-elevation conifer forests—such as those
in the Jemez Mountains—have increased by 650 percent. And between 1984 and 2008
wildfire and bark beetles killed trees across 20 percent of New Mexico and
Arizona’s forests. And this is only the beginning: Models predict more
wildfires and increased risk to Southwestern communities.

The continued rise in regional temperatures will threaten
public health in the region’s cities. The report’s authors add that
“disruptions to urban electricity and water supplies will exacerbate these
health problems.” Heat stress can kill people, especially elderly residents,
but it also aggravates respiratory and heart problems.

Climate change also poses particular threats to the region’s
182 American Indian tribes, as well as communities along the US-Mexico border.
According to the report, “tribes may face loss of traditional foods, medicines
and water supplies due to declining snowpack, increasing temperatures and
increasing drought.”

The report’s authors also note that the lack of financial
resources and low tax bases for tribal and border communities only exacerbates
the problems they’ll face as the impacts from climate change intensify. Already
lacking adequate infrastructure—whether roads or for safe drinking water—those
communities will be even more vulnerable to risks such as “air pollution,
inadequate erosion and flood control and insufficient safe drinking water.”

Development of the assessment was overseen by a 60-member Federal
Advisory Committee established four years ago by the US Department of
Commerce. Released in January 2013 the draft report was open to public comment
and review by the National Academies—which released its consensus report last
year.

In other words, this is a serious report that has been held
to the highest peer-review standards. Its findings can’t easily be debunked by
a few doubters calling climate change a hoax.

The assessment's website is user-friendly to navigate,
whether you’re seeking to browse impacts by regions, response strategies or sectors,
such as water, energy, transportation, agriculture, and human health. Many of
the references cited also link to original research articles for people looking
for more information on everything from wildfire to greenhouse gas emission
reduction strategies.